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Callum Hudson-Odoi's wait for a first start in the Premier League should continue. Maurizio Sarri chose not to watch the debut of the English girl in its entirety and to rely on more experienced players for the trip from Chelsea to Cardiff City Sunday.
The winger had been a surprise under-21 call to Gareth Southgate's senior team and had become the youngest start-up player in his country in a competitive match against the Czech Republic, before leaving for Montenegro. After a slow start, Hudson-Odoi excelled in Podgorica and the visitors won 5-1.
However, Sarri, who had 14 players in international competition this month, only watched excerpts from that performance as he tried to closely follow the various members of his team, and suggested the 18-year-old player – who only has 119 minutes of high-flying play. football, and no starts, this term and 110 minutes to England – remains behind Eden Hazard, Willian and Pedro in the order of Chelsea.
When asked if he looked at Hudson-Odoi's billboard Monday, Sarri said, "No, no. No, only 20 minutes because I had 14 players in the national teams and I did not have the time to watch 20 games. Callum did not start very well in the first 20 minutes on the right. He behaved very well on the left, right away. But I know him very well and I know he prefers to play on the left.
"I do not know [if he will start at Cardiff]. Last season, Callum was only 17 and played three or four games. This season, he's really very young – he's only 18 – but for the moment he's been playing for … I do not remember exactly, but 19 or 20 matches. So, I think that evolution is the right evolution. He will probably play between 30 and 35 matches next season. And so I think that with Callum, we are on the right track. We have to play eight games in 28 days and I'm sure Callum will start in two or three games.
"But the Premier League, the Europa League, the FA Cup … for me, it's the same … for me, there is no difference. I am really very confident in him. He started a lot of matches. Probably not in the Premier League, but it's by chance. It's not a problem for me to place him in the starting lineup in a Premier League match. He is ready. But of course, I can only play with two wingers. In the team we have Hazard, Willian, Pedro, so it's not really easy to start every game here. Probably, in the near future, it will start in 75 to 80% of matches. "
Hudson-Odoi – like the three wings of the club – is out of contract in 2020 and, frustrated by the lack of opportunities, submitted a transfer request in January in an effort to force his move to Bayern Munich. The club has yet to start new discussions with the young on an improved contract offer, its future remaining in the air.
Despite this uncertainty, Sarri remains convinced that the player will remain in south-west London to continue his development next season. "I think so, I think so," he added. "I'm not able to say if he's going to sign a new contract or not, but I think he'll stay here with us anyway. He is doing very well, but he has yet to progress because the potential is really high. I do not want it to stop improving because it can become one of the most important players in Europe. But he needs to improve further. So the risk is to stop improving. "
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